L-G flags 'inordinate delay' in tabling CAG reports
New Delhi: Delhi Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena wrote to the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal regarding the reports of the "Comptroller and Auditor-General of India (CAG)" relating to the accounts of the NCT of Delhi shall be submitted to the Lt. Governor who shall cause them to be laid before the Legislative Assembly.
The L-G noted that four audits reports of CAG relating to GNCTD from the year 2017 to 2021 were pending until recently with the Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and had not been presented in front of the Delhi Assembly. As per him, the LG office flagged the reports not being disclosed repeatedly. Eventually, all the above reports were laid before the Legislative Assembly on June 5, 2022 after a considerable gap of time, L-G noted.
In his letter, the L-G stated "Inordinate delay in laying the Audit Reports before the Legislative Assembly not only delayed timely corrective action but also indirectly resulted in perpetuating stated deficiencies, thus defeating the purpose of the audit in terms of ensuring efficiency, accountability and compliance with laid down rules and procedures." He also stated that tabling all four reports in one go resulted in not enough time for discussion and deliberations in the House.
The L-G flagged parts of the report in his correspondence. As per the CAG report No 1 of the year 2020 on social, general and economic centers the grants-in-aid received for the development of capital assets were irregularly diverted and utilized for other purposes by DJB, without the approval of the Urban Development Department as per the first CAG report.
The second CAG audit reported 7 state government companies with an investment of Rs. 6,929.93 crore had accumulated losses of Rs 31,724 crore. Losses in two Power Companies (Delhi Power Company Limited - Rs 1,360 crore and Delhi Corporation (Rs 29,143 crore) accounted for 99.95% of accumulated losses.
CAG Report No. 1 of the year 2021 on Revenue, Economic, Social and General Sectors and PSUs stated that Test-check of records revealed under-assessment/short levy/loss of revenue and other irregularities involving Rs. 521.61 crore in 394 cases out of which the concerned Departments accepted under assessment and short levy of Rs 96.32 crore.
CAG Report No. 2 of the year 2021: State Finances Audit Report explained that audit scrutiny of Appropriation Accounts for the year 2019-20 revealed that supplementary grants amounting to Rs 810.86 crore in 11 cases were obtained in anticipation of higher/additional expenditure. However, the final expenditure was even less than the original grant, thereby defeating the intended purpose of the supplementary grant.
